Sunday, September 18, 2016

Christian groups slam Israel over Gaza 'prison', call on US to cut military aid

Two leading Christian groups have strongly criticised Israel's
occupation of Palestinian territory, demanded the Jewish state end the
"prison-like conditions" in Gaza and called on the US to cancel its
military aid budget to its Middle Eastern ally.

In a joint statement following
a "consultation on the Holy Land" this week, the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and The National Council of Churches of Christ, USA (NCC)
ecumenical groups that represent over 545 million Christians combined,
said that "keeping an entire population under occupation and even in a
closed area, such as Gaza, in prison-like conditions is a grave and
unsustainable situation."

It added: "We are also well aware that Israel
is the occupying force and has commanding power over the people of
Palestine and, thus, bears special responsibility for taking the
initiative."

The statement called on the US to "cease its practice of arming
various state and non-state actors in the Middle East and, in
particular, to reconsider its proposed $38 billion military aid package
to Israel, for the last thing needed at this time is more weapons," and
"end the current wave of legislative efforts to penalize the use of
non-violent economic measures to influence policy in Israel."

The statement said: "No people should be denied their rights and,
certainly, no people should be denied their rights for generations. The
unresolved conflict in Israel and Palestine is primarily about justice,
and until the requirement of justice is met, peace cannot be
established. As Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank,
and Gaza nears the 50-year mark, generations have been suffering under
this reality."

The church groups sounded a pessimistic note on the prospects of a
two-state solution. "The possibilities of a viable two-state solution,
for which we have long advocated, are more elusive and, seemingly, more
unrealistic than ever," their joint statement said.

The two umbrella organisations met in
Arlington, Virginia from September 12-14, 2016.

"More than 60
representatives of churches and church-related organizations from around
the world gathered because we hear the cries of all who are yearning
for peace and justice in the land we call Holy," the statement said.

The statement was signed by Rev Olav Fykse-Tveit, general secretary
of the WCC, and Jim Winkler, the president and general secretary of the
NCC.

The pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League called the statement
"disappointing, yet sadly predictable." It said: "The WCC and NCC
preference to blame only Israel for the Arab-Israeli conflict — and for
the failure to achieve a two-state solution — is wrong on the facts and
detached from the realities in the region," according to a statement
Thursday by Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the
Anti-Defamation League, and Rabbi David Fox Sandmel, its director of
interfaith affairs.

The American Jewish Committee accused the two Christian groups of
having "a long history of anti-Israel bias." It said: "What could have
been a powerful plea for peacemaking turned reflexively to a familiar
and factually feeble denunciation of Israel from two groups with a long
history of anti-Israel bias...These two church bodies claim to seek
justice, but uniformly blame Israel exclusively for Palestinian
suffering, while utterly failing to hold Palestinians to account for
incitement and violence against Israel."